Last night we were over at my in laws celebrating my husband’s brother. Of course we had a wonderful time catching up with friends and family but he highlight of the night for me was the food! My mother in law had all the fixin’s for taco salads. For some reason, this has been a favorite of mine lately so I was more than happy when I walked in the door and saw what was for dinner!

 

She had fresh cut lettuce, corn chips, taco beef, cheese and a variety of salsas. My favorite is Lynn’s Pineapple Salsa. I love the sweet flavor with the taco meat. My hubby prefers Keith’s Corn Salsa on his. This is good as well but for some reason I just can’t get enough of the Pineapple.

 

If you love tacos (and who doesn’t given how easy they are to make), I highly recommend trying one of our Amish Salsas on them… whether you eat it in a taco or as a salad, these salsas won’t disappoint!

Amish Hot Bacon Salad is one of my grandma’s staple foods at all family get-togethers. It never fails that she has this salad on the table, ready for all to indulge!

 

It is a favorite of my entire family! She of course makes her own Hot Bacon Dressing; however, Naomi’s  Bacon Dressing tastes just like grandma’s. I honestly could not believe how similar they were the first time I had Naomi’s.

 

If you’re going to try this, it is super easy! All my grandma does is cut up some fresh lettuce and then slices hardboiled egg on top. Then you simply pour the Bacon Dressing over the salad and there you have it! It couldn’t get any easier or better tasting!  

 

Side note: I was talking to a gentleman at market last week and he told me he has a friend who is a Cardiologist in Lancaster and it is because of things like Naomi’s Bacon Dressing that he makes a living… and my response… we never claimed this was healthy for you, only VERY tasty!   J  Both he and I had a good laugh about this and it made us realize why we love Lancaster County so much – good food!

There was quite a bit of discussion on our Facebook page last week about our Raspberry Chipotle BBQ Sauce so I thought I would blog about it this morning. This Amish BBQ Sauce seems to be quite a hit with our customers.

 

If you haven’t tried it, most people like it because of its sweet raspberry taste and then of course the slight kick of chipotle! We like to use it on our chicken and pork but you can pretty much put it on anything…

 

Someone at market on Friday told me they pour it over cream cheese. Of course I thought they were thinking of our Amish Red Pepper Jam but she said that they do that too, but the Raspberry Chipotle BBQ Sauce on cream cheese is just as good.

 

We love learning new ideas on how to use our products from our customers – stop by market, check us out on Facebook or shoot us an email with anything you would like to share!

 

We know what you’re thinking… ok so where can I buy this stuff? Well right now you have to come visit us at Lancaster Central Market because we do not have our BBQ sauces on the web yet… Or stop back soon… they will be available here in the coming weeks!

 

We are having some friends over Sunday for lunch. Last night were deciding what we wanted to cook for them… For some reason or another, we decided on good ole’ burgers on the grill!

 

I think I will make homemade burgers – these are the best kind. I add all different kinds of spices and flavors and each time they come out a little different and always yummy!

 

Have you ever tried Sadie’s 7 Day Pickles on your burgers? If not, you need to do so this weekend! They add the perfect amount of flavor to a homemade burger.

 

We have many family members trying their hand at gardening this year and of course canning their crop. One of the most popular items at MawMaw’s dinner the other night was Ellen’s pickles. She made dill pickles and they were VERY good! For those who aren’t so good in the kitchen, we would recommend just buying a jar of our 7 Day Pickles… it is a lot less work and there is less cleanup in your kitchen!

Do we have an idea for you and your family!

Last night, we made a wonderful snack after dinner. It was the perfect sweet treat after a nice meal...

This is so easy, kids could even make it themselves... Take a CoCo Pop Multigrain Snack, spread some Amish Jam on it (we chose Stefanie's No Sugar Added Strawberry Rhubarb), then slice some bananas on top and if you want, spread some more jam over the bananas. Doesn't that sound good?!?!?

We enjoyed this healthy snack last night and we hope you and your family will do the same!

It’s true… although we hate to admit it, we do eat our Amish Jams straight from the jar. Throw one in the freezer, let it harden up, grab a spoon and enjoy! It’s such a sweet, fresh, refreshing treat in the summer time.

 

If you have small kids we suggest scooping some into an ice cube tray and stick a popsicle stick in the center. Again, pop ‘em in the freezer and in a few hours your kids will have a yummy afternoon snack. And if you use our No Sugar Added Jams, it’s healthy too!

 

Let us know which jam your kids like the best! We love Pricilla’s Peach in the summer!

 

What’s for dinner at your house tonight? We are having Southwestern Taco Pie!

 

Check out this recipe and be sure to try it sometime soon…

 

Ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef
1 (1.25-ounce) package Taco Seasoning Mix
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon oil
1 (1-pound) package frozen green, red and yellow peppers and onions*
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 (11-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1/2 cup salsa – Lynn’s Pineapple, Keith’s Corn or Josh’s Black Bean – pick any one but make sure to try all three!
1 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on package
8 ounces (2 cups) shredded cheese recommended: Colby/Monterey blend or Mexican blend

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Brown ground beef in large skillet over medium-high heat for 8 to 10minutes or until thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently. Drain. Add taco seasoning mix and water; mix until ground beef is well coated.

Meanwhile, heat oil in large saucepan over medium high heat until hot. Add peppers and onions; cook 4 to 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and drain excess liquid. Add garlic and onion powders, salt, pepper, corn, and salsa, stir well and set aside.

Prepare pie crusts as directed on package for 2-crust pie using 9-inch glass or metal pie pan.

Combine salsa and corn mixture with ground beef; mix well. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of cheese evenly in bottom of crust-lined pan. Spread 1/2 of beef mixture evenly in pan over cheese, pat down. Sprinkle 3/4 cup cheese in pan and spread evenly with remaining beef mixture, pat down, top with remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Top with second crust and flute; slit in several places.

Bake for 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cover edge of crust with strips of foil or a pie crust shield after 15 minutes of baking. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

* If using fresh peppers and onions, use 1 1/2 cups chopped onions and 2 1/2 cups chopped peppers and increase prep time and stove top cooking time.

 

I wish I could take credit for this recipe, but unfortunately cannot… I found it on a friend’s blog… all I did was change up the salsa to some Amish Family Recipe goodness!

 

Looking for something to take to a weekend get-together? Do you want to impress your friends and family?

Grab a jar of Eli's Hot Mustard and some Super Sharp Cheddar Cheese... this combination is "oh so good" and will have your friends talking! Our Amish hot mustard is sure to clear out your sinuses with its "horseradish hottness"! We just hope you're brave enough to give it a try. 

Your will also enjoy Eli's Hot Mustard on pretzels, sandwhiches, hot dogs, burgers, etc... The list goes on and on.

Come to think of it... I don't know that anyone has ever sampled this mustard and not liked it... So order some for yourself online or stop by Lancaster Central Market and try it for yourself. Say hello to us and mention this blog post and we will give you $1 off any jar you would like! Of course, we would recomend the Eli's Hot Mustard!

Have you been to Lancaster Central Market lately to see our new CoCo Multigrain Rice Cake machine? If you don't know what I am talking about, you must stop in sometime soon.

We introduced the Multigrain Snacks about a week and a half ago and they are already a hit! The best part about the product is they are healthy! The ingredients are all natural, only 16 calories per disk and of course they are delicious!

Many people have asked us how to eat them - we suggest any of our Amish Family jams, salsas and peanut butter spread atop the rice cakes. Our personal favorite is our No Sugar Added Jams atop a warm, fresh rice cake for breakfast. Can't get any better than that in our opinion.

Stop by and check it out soon - half the fun is seeing the machine in action, shooting out a disk every 8 seconds! Kids (and adults) love it!

Enjoy!

The weather this week in central PA is going to be beautiful! To enjoy the nice, warm, evening air, I recomend throwing some shrimp on the grill for dinner. Darlene's Fat Free Honey Kissed Pineapple Vinaigrette is delicious on shrimp. It is as simple as pouring some of this yummy Amish dressing into a pan, placing your peeled shrimp in the pan and cooking the shrimp!

While you are doing that on the side burner of your grill, I also recomend slicing some squash and zucchini from your garden and throwing that on the grill. While it is cooking, brush on some Fat Free Honey Kissed Pineapple Vinaigrette! I know this may sound a little funny but it is delicious!

Now doesn't that sound like a wonderful summer dinner? Let us know if you try it and what you think.

Come visit us this week at Lancaster Central Market, open Tuesday and Friday 6:00-4:00 and Saturday 6:00-2:00.

We are happy to now be selling Gluten Free Biscotti in 4 delicious flavors; Apricot Almond, Toffee Almond, Mixed up Mocha and Cranberry Orange.

We have gotten wonderful feedback on the taste of these yummy treats and we hope those of you that cannot eat gluten enjoy them also!

Stop by market this week and let us know what you think.

If Gluten Free isn't your thing, we have over 20 varieties of regular biscotti as well. Some of our most popular are Toffee Almond, Turtle Bliss, Tutti Fruity and Chocolate Almond. Whatever you like, stop out this week and try some with your morning coffee.

You will also find all of our Amish no sugar added jams, regular jams, dressings, marinades, BBQ sauces, hot sauces, salsas, mustards and pickled veggies at market. You're sure to find something to take along to your Memorial Day Party.

Hope to see you at market!

Looking for the perfect snack to take to a cookout this weekend? We have 2 delicious suggestions...

All you need is a block of cream cheese and either our Amish Red Pepper Jam or Pineapple Salsa.

Now here is the best part... All you have to do is pour the Pepper Jam or the Pineapple Salsa atop the cream cheese and serve with crackers! Could we make it any easier?!?!

Both of these snacks are sure to be a hit at any get together! You may want to take more than one block of cream cheese because your friends and family will eat this up very quickly and will want more more more!

Enjoy!